fupported him, left without fubfiftence, he went to confult his mother, who then lived at Leicester, about the future course of his life; and by her direction folicited the advice and patronage of Sir William Temple, who had married one of Mrs. Swift's relations, and whofe father Sir John Temple, Mafter of the Rolls in Ireland, had lived in great familiarity of friendship with Godwin Swift, by whom Jonathan had been to that time maintained.

Temple received with fufficient kindness the nephew of his father's friend, with whom he was, when they conversed together, so much pleased, that he detained him two years in his house. Here he became known to King William, who fometimes vifited Temple when he was disabled by the gout, and, being attended by Swift in the garden, fhewed him how to cut afparagus in the Dutch way.

King William's notions were all military; and he expreffed his kindness to Swift by offering to make him a captain of horse.

When Temple removed to Moor-park, he took Swift with him; and when he was confulted by the Earl of Portland about the expedience of complying with a bill then depending for making parliaments triennial, against which King William was ftrongly prejudiced, after having in vain tried to fhew the Earl that the propofal involved nothing dangerous to royal power, he sent Swift for the fame purpose to the King. Swift, who probably was proud of his émployment, and went with all the confidence of a young man, found his arguments, and his art of displaying them, made totally ineffectual by the pre

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determination of the King; and used to mention this disappointment as his firft antidote against vanity.

Before he left Ireland he contracted a disorder, as he thought, by eating too much fruit. The original of diseases is commonly obfcure. Almost every body eats as much fruit as he can get, without any great inconvenience. The difeafe of Swift was giddinefs with deafnefs, which attacked him from time to time, began very early, pursued him through life, and at laft fent him to the grave, deprived of reason.

Being much oppreffed at Moor-park by this grievous malady, he was advised to try his native air, and went to Ireland; but, finding no benefit, returned to Sir William, at whose house he continued his ftudies, and is known to have read, among other books, Cyprian" and "Irenæus." He thought exercise of great neceffity, and used to run half a mile up and down a hill every two hours.

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It is eafy to imagine that the mode in which his first degree was conferred, left him no great fondnefs for the University of Dublin, and therefore he refolved to become a Master of Arts at Oxford. In the teftimonial which he produced, the words of difgrace were omitted; and he took his Mafter's degree (July 5, 1692) with fuch reception and regard as fully contented him.

While he lived with Temple, he used to pay his mother at Leicester a yearly visit. He travelled on foot, unless fome violence of weather drove him into a waggon; and at night he would go to a penny lodging, where he purchafed clean fheets for fixpence. This practice Lord Orrery imputes to his inmate love of groffnefs and vulgarity: fome may afcribe it to

his defire of furveying human life through all its varieties; and others, perhaps with equal probability, to a paffion which feems to have been deeply fixed in his heart, the love of a fhilling.

In time he began to think that his attendance at Moor-park deserved fome other recompence than the pleasure, however mingled with improvement, of Temple's converfation; and grew fo impatient, that (1694) he went away in difcontent.

Temple, confcious of having given reafon for complaint, is faid to have made him Deputy Mafter of the Rolls in Ireland; which, according to his kinfman's account, was an office which he knew him not able to difcharge. Swift therefore refolved to enter into the Church, in which he had at first no higher hopes than of the chaplainship to the Factory at Lisbon; but being recommended to Lord Capel, he obtained the prebend of Kilroot in Connor, of about a hundred pounds a year.

But the infirmities of Temple made a companion like Swift so neceffary, that he invited him back, with a promise to procure him English preferment, in exchange for the prebend, which he defired him to refign. With this request Swift complied, having perhaps equally repented their feparation, and they lived on together with mutual fatisfaction; and, in the four years that paffed between his return and Temple's death, it is probable that he wrote the "Tale of a Tub" and the "Battle of the Books."

Swift began early to think, or to hope, that he was a poet, and wrote Pindarick Odes to Temple, to the King, and to the Athenian Society, a knot of obfcure

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obfcure men*, who published a periodical pamphlet of answers to questions, fent, or fuppofed to be fent, by Letters. I have been told that Dryden, having perufed thefe verfes, faid, "Coufin Swift, you will "never be a poet;" and that this denunciation was the motive of Swift's perpetual malevolence to Dryden.

In 1699 Temple died, and left a legacy with his manuscripts to Swift, for whom he had obtained, from King William, a promife of the first prebend that fhould be vacant at Westminster or Canterbury.

That this promife might not be forgotten, Swift dedicated to the King the pofthumous works with which he was intrufted; but neither the dedication, nor tenderness for the man whom he once had treated with confidence and fondness, revived in King William the remembrance of his promise. Swift awhile attended the Court; but foon found his folicitations hopeless.

He was then invited by the Earl of Berkeley to accompany him into Ireland, as his private fecretary; but after having done the bufinefs till their arrival at Dublin, he then found that one Bush had persuaded the Earl that a Clergyman was not a proper fecretary, and had obtained the office for himself. In a man like Swift, fuch circumvention and inconftancy muft have excited violent indignation.

But he had yet more to fuffer. Lord Berkeley had the difpofal of the deanery of Derry, and Swift expected to obtain it; but by the fecretary's influence, supposed to have been fecured by a bribe, it was bestowed on fomebody elfe; and Swift was difmiffed

* The Publisher of this Collection was John Dunton. R.

with the livings of Laracor and Rathbeggin in the diocefe of Meath, which together did not equal half the value of the deanery.

At Laracor he increafed the parochial duty by reading prayers on Wednesdays and Fridays, and performed all the offices of his profeffion with great decency and exactness.

Soon after his fettlement at Laracor, he invited to Ireland the unfortunate Stella, a young woman whofe name was Johnson, the daughter of the fteward of Sir William Temple, who, in confideration of her father's virtues, left her a thousand pounds. With her came Mrs. Dingley, whofe whole fortune was twenty-seven pounds a year for her life. With thefe Ladies he paffed his hours of relaxation, and to them he opened his bofom; but they never refided in the fame house, nor did he fee either without a witnefs. They lived at the Parfonage, when Swift was away; and when he returned, removed to a lodging, or to the house of a neighbouring clergyman.

Swift was not one of those minds which amaze the world with early pregnancy: his firft work, except his few poetical Effays, was the "Diffentions in "Athens and Rome," published (1701) in his thirty-fourth year. After its appearance, paying a vifit to fome bishop, he heard mention made of the new pamphlet that Burnet had written, replete with political knowledge. When he feemed to doubt Burnet's right to the work, he was told by the Bishop, that he was a young man ;" and, ftill perfifting to doubt, that he was " a very pofitive young man."

Three years afterwards (1704) was published "The Tale of a Tub:" of this book charity may